Red Meat
Encyclopedia
Max Cannon
's Red Meat is an independent comic strip
begun in 1989. It appears in over 75 alternative weeklies
and college
papers in the United States
and in other countries. Since 1996, it has been available for reading on the web.
" of no background. Cannon has said that he wanted Red Meat "to have a look that was somewhere between clip art
and arresting minimalism
, so that the text was more important than the art itself,".
Red Meat features "slug lines" at the top of each comic which are frequently alliterative. For example, "Official pace car of the apocalypse" or "puckered piehole of the pointless".
, the student run newspaper of the University of Arizona
, in 1989. It was then picked up by the Tucson Weekly
.
Cannon is also creator of the Comedy Central
animated webshow, Shadow Rock (based on the Red Meat strip). The 10 episodes are now available on Atom.com.
In 2009, Max Cannon urged his readers to contact the editors of their local alternative weekly papers in an effort to save the comics printed within.
Three collections of the strips have been released:
Max Cannon
Max Cannon is author and creator of the independent comic strip Red Meat.Cannon began producing the strip in 1989 for the Arizona Daily Wildcat, the student newspaper of the University of Arizona . The strip was later picked up by the Tucson Weekly, and it now appears in over 75 alternative weeklies...
's Red Meat is an independent comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
begun in 1989. It appears in over 75 alternative weeklies
Alternative media
Alternative media are media which provide alternative information to the mainstream media in a given context, whether the mainstream media are commercial, publicly supported, or government-owned...
and college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
papers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and in other countries. Since 1996, it has been available for reading on the web.
Style
The strip features a cast of characters with abnormal personalities. A visual hallmark of the strip is the almost total lack of movement of the characters from panel to panel and a "Featureless VoidFeatureless Void
A "Featureless Void" is a common theme in comics where the characters or items appear to float in a blank panel; a panel without context...
" of no background. Cannon has said that he wanted Red Meat "to have a look that was somewhere between clip art
Clip art
Clip art, in the graphic arts, refers to pre-made images used to illustrate any medium. Today, clip art is used extensively in both personal and commercial projects, ranging from home-printed greeting cards to commercial candles. Clip art comes in many forms, both electronic and printed. However,...
and arresting minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
, so that the text was more important than the art itself,".
Red Meat features "slug lines" at the top of each comic which are frequently alliterative. For example, "Official pace car of the apocalypse" or "puckered piehole of the pointless".
Characters
Many of the strip's human characters are 1950s caricatures.- Bug-Eyed Earl - A demented person, slightly resembling Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
or Charles Pierre Baudelaire but a lot more like Steve BuscemiSteve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
. Earl's appearances generally involve him telling a surreal, strange, and usually disgusting anecdote. - Milkman Dan - The local milkmanMilkmanA milkman is a person, traditionally male, who delivers milk in milk bottles or cartons. Milk deliveries frequently occur in the morning and it is not uncommon for milkmen to deliver products other than milk such as eggs, cream, cheese, butter, yogurt or soft drinks...
; eccentric and hostile towards people and animals, especially Karen, a neighborhood child. Constantly battling against sobriety. Dan also dresses as a cow in his guise as McMoo, the anti-drug cow. - Ted Johnson - Cannon has stated that Ted is based on his own father. He has a taste for gruesome sexual fetishes and cruel hobbies.
Publication
The strip was briefly picked up by The Arizona Daily WildcatArizona Daily Wildcat
The Arizona Daily Wildcat is a student newspaper serving the University of Arizona. It was founded in 1899 as the Sage Green and Silver. Previous names include Arizona Weekly Life, University Life, Arizona Life and Arizona Wildcat. Its distribution is within the university and the Tucson, Arizona...
, the student run newspaper of the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, in 1989. It was then picked up by the Tucson Weekly
Tucson Weekly
The Tucson Weekly is an alternative newsweekly that was founded in 1984 by Douglas Biggers and Mark Goehring, and serves the Tucson, Arizona metropolitan area of about 900,000 residents. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies...
.
Cannon is also creator of the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
animated webshow, Shadow Rock (based on the Red Meat strip). The 10 episodes are now available on Atom.com.
In 2009, Max Cannon urged his readers to contact the editors of their local alternative weekly papers in an effort to save the comics printed within.
Three collections of the strips have been released:
- Red Meat (1997) ISBN 0-312-18302-X
- More Red Meat (1998) ISBN 0-312-19514-1
- Red Meat Gold (2005) ISBN 0-312-33014-6